Don’t Waste Time Learning Kubernetes

I’ve taken up the hobby of creating a video series on installing Kubernetes and OpenFaaS. From the experience, I learned why you never want to learn how to install and configure Kubernetes and OpenFaaS. The reasoning is beyond K8s as infrastructure and infrastructure bores. It’s about the breadth of knowledge an architect or CTO must have to meet the needs of digital experience.

By reading the excellent Kubernetes the Hardway by Kelsey Hightower, you’ll understand the magic behind the “kubectl create -f ./test.json” command. You’ll gain in-depth understanding of how the scheduler handle affinity and anti-affinity rules. However, none of that prepares you for the real challenges of digital experience.

Forest from the Trees

At this level of play, enterprise architects must see the forest from the trees. While understanding the details of Kubernetes doesn’t hurt, time spent learning those details means less time learning the challenges of the business or what competitors are doing to improve user experience.

It means less time improving project and program management. As the data center lease expires, you’ll know how to scale the services running on a Kubernetes Master vs. the financial implications of exploring a data center in a different tax district.

Time for Partnerships

Deloitte and MITSloan released an interesting report on Digital Innovation. It surveyed companies across the spectrum of Digital Innovation from those early in the process and companies deep into transformation. A common thread amongst the leaders? The ability to partner with organizations that enhanced their ability to deliver.

Kubernetes is an excellent example of an area it’s better to partner vs. spending time investing config/run skill. Of course, you should know what kubectl or a pod is from a technical perspective. It may even help to run a version of Kubernetes on your laptop. However, leave the deep dive to partners while you go off and learn how to win over change agents in the order-to-cash process group.